Songs For The Heartbroken: That's What You Get

Chapter 23

"Akane-san owed you nothing, Doyun." Bit back Hotaka the second he sat down. "And even if she did, she is unable to pay what she owed."

As our entire team sat at the table, the three orphans let amusement slide off their faces only to let it be replaced by confusion. They all turned to me.

"My name is Sumiko," I bowed, introducing myself to them for the second time. "Uchiha Akane was victim to genocide; she died with every other Uchiha when Itachi the Clan Killer massacred his entire family."

The orphans were shaken to their core when Sensei explained the situation as best he could. They had, of course, heard of the massacre, and had hoped I had survived. But even when they pretended to mourn me for the sake of my cover, I could tell they were relieved to see me alive.

Once pleasantries had been exchanged, and Doyun had nailed me with a 'We'll talk about this later' look, it was all business. They delivered one scroll, and when we pointed out that it was a bit lacking considering the amount of time we'd spent away, they explained that Emiko had taken to fuinjutsu and was quite adept with storage seals. Taka had never looked so proud in the time I'd known him.

"Well, other than the increasing movement regarding trade from Kiri ever since the death of the Mizukage a couple of months ago," explained Danno. "the only other curious thing going on is over in Kusa and Ame."

Doyun nodded along to what his partner was saying as he nibbled on a steamed bun and Emiko sipped her tea quietly beside him. The remaining four of us listened intently to his every word, even if we knew the scroll held a much more detailed account on what had been going on.

"Both the Land of Grass and Amegakure have been steadily closing themselves off to the rest of the world not only trade-wise, they have been keeping a close eye on anyone who enters or leaves their territories." Doyun had taken over where Danno had left the explanation so his friend could eat.

"They aren't completely isolating themselves yet, but it's been growing increasingly obvious this past year." He stopped for a second as the waiter brought more food and tea to their booth. "Whatever is going on, they are getting impatient. Not only that, The Daimyo in Land of Sound has authorized the creation of a hidden village this year, preparations should be starting in February."

Or little 'catching up' went on and on, and before we realized just how much time we'd actually spent talking to the orphans, it was time for us to rendezvous with our contact. We left the place with the promise to see all three of them throughout our entire stay in the city and a new storage scroll safely in Sensei's grasp. It pleased me to see that even after all this time, our interactions with Danno, Doyun and Emiko remained the same. There were no awkward silences, no tiptoeing around each other, no walking on eggshells. Everything still felt like we'd never left, even with the presence of Sumiko.

We pushed through the crowds as we made our way to the centre of the city, avoiding those we knew to be scammers, pick pockets, human traffickers, and other more unpleasant 'tradesmen'. We only stopped walking when we found ourselves outside the city's biggest, most popular brothel. Us genin exchanged a look when Akira-sensei walked in casually as he would into a weapons' shop, and only hurried in after him when Kosuke barked for us to follow.

Inside, every woman that approached Sensei was impeccably dressed, their faces covered in heavy makeup and their hairs styled in ways I did not think would be practical considering their line of work. But they all looked their best, and most carried themselves with a sense of pride most attributed to a highborn.

The matron, however, was another matter entirely. She did not have the appearance of one, she looked walked, talked and dressed as if she were the Daimyo's lady, and had she said that was the case, I would not have doubted her. Adin, the matron to Akai Kyüden, was a very powerful woman, whether she found her power when she became part of the trade or had always had that regal aura to her, I did not know. The only thing I knew for certain was that it was in every body's best interest not to anger her or test her patience.